Hello to all. I have a paddling friend who gave me a small camera. Made by Cooau.
I have no idea how to use it, but I am going to get a manual and read up on how it works.
But my question is: How should I wear it? I’d like to put it on a head band or make a strap system that can go on a hat. But with zero experience in such things, I don’t have a starting place.
Any suggestions?
Do you folks use cameras? If so what do you do?
If the camera you have is something like this (https://amzn.to/3nMJiJA), it looks like a knockoff of GoPro.
I haven;t been filming for quite a while, so if folks like @sing (who does post a bunch of fun videos taken with what I suspect is a GoPro or similar type of camera) chips in, listen up.
Here are some thoughts from when I was filming.
I mostly used attached to a helmet on top of head (think Teletubbies). Pro - shows what you see. Cons - may people swing their heads all over the place as they ware watching for stuff, especially if in whitewater or surf. I would prefer to attach to a helmet than a head band, as in conditions that head band could be yanked off you and camera would be gone, where helmets are strapped and buckled. Not a bad idea even with the camera being clipped in on a mount to also have a leash.
Attach to boat facing you. Shows what you are doing and experiencing. Sung does this a lot. Downside is that it is hard to turn camera on and off like this, as it isn’t easy to physically reach the camera to press buttons. I would always use a leash when doing this.
Some use a chest mount - this seems better for cyclists than kayakers, as the paddle blocks the camera vie a lot and looks a bit weird with the wide angle lens. Haven’t seen a canoeist who tried it to see what that would be like.
An interesting use for underwater images is to attach to your paddle near the blade and stick underwater when you want to film underwater scenes.
See today’s Redbud thread. I use a DJI Osmo drone camera, originally for use on my model railroad layout. The camera has exposure issues but is gimballed so no matter how much you jerk and tilt it stays level and smooth. I assume GoPro has something similar. The camera is not waterproof at all.
Holder is custom fabbed from .06" polystyrene sheet, Evergreen angles and Testors cement and riveted to the side of my baseball cap. I get paranoid with it around twigs and branches.
As @Peter-CA points out, tried chest mount and it just doesn’t work. I’ve seen videos pointing back at the paddler, not my cup of tea.
I use a chest mount and works ok, but the paddle looks like a U in the videos. If mine had a remote, I would keep it on my helmet.
Not a GoPro person (prefer pictures) but most of the folks I paddle with use helmet mounts. I do think helmet mounted video are more interesting than boat mounted videos because you get a little more movement. I find boat mounted videos with the bow constantly in the frame a little boring, but it is nice to be able to turn the camera around and get a shot of the paddler like this. Video of a strap mount to a kayak here (assume you are in a kayak):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQLtJuuk6ks
Experiment a little - it is fun.
Yes Peter-CA, that’s the one.
I also am less interested in videos but want to take pictures now and then. I dislike the idea of a boat mount because a kayak is not as fast to turn like my head is. But wearing a helmet all the time just in case I’d like to get a picture seems to be more inconvenient and probably more uncomfortable then wearing a hat. I wear a hat all the time in my kayak anyway except for the times the water is very cold. Then I were a hood. At times when I wanted to take off the helmet I’d be looking for a way to strap it on the deck adding more obstacles and “junk” so I’d like to avoid that if I can.
OK…I believe I’ve found what I need. A friend told me to write “head mount Go Pro” in a search bar. Yup that’s what I needed. Someplace to start.
This could be worn on the hear or even pined or sewed to a hat.
If you are taking pictures it is usually easier to keep the camera in a pocket and pull it out when you want to take a shot. Easier to frame the picture and adjust things like the zoom.
Maybe I am over thinking this. The idea of using a camera like it was a camera seems logical.